Steel mail box support for steel post



Jan; 13, 1959 HATCH 2,868,488

STEEL MAIL BOX SUPPORT FOR STEEL POST Filed Oct. 26, 1955 FIG. 2.

19 FIG. 3.

INVENTOH. 2|)

"U. HERMAN R. HATCH United States Patent 2,868,488 STEEL MAIL BOX SUPPORT FOR STEEL POST Herman R. Hatch, West Farmington, Ohio Application October 26, 1955, Serial No. 542,955

1 Claim. (Cl. 248-149) This invention relates to mail box supports.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mail box support which can be assembled with the simplest of tools and which will provide a neat and inexpensive installation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mail box support of the above type which is designed to eliminate the conventional unsightly mail box installations now in use.

1 Other objects of the invention are to provide a mail box support bearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has a minimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and efficient in use.

For other objects and a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention shown supporting a mail box upon a steel post; 1

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof looking along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the mail box removed; and

Fig. 3 is a. horizontal sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, indicates a steel post supported in the ground 11 by means of the concrete 12, while 13 indicates generally a rural mail box which it is desired to support on post 10.

In the practice of my invention, a rectangular hollow frame 14 of welded steel is provided around its open inner periphery with the rectangular depending flange 15.

A U-bolt 16 secures the end of the frame 14 to the upper end of the post 10, the U-bolt passing through a pair of laterally spaced openings in the end of flange and having screwed thereon the nut 17.

A second U-bolt 18 is positioned on the post 10 and is secured to a transverse strap or plate 19 of steel by means of laterally spaced openings provided in the latter and nuts 20 whereby to secure the transverse member 19 to the post 10. A pair of upwardly and outwardly extending steel braces 21 are welded to the opposite ends of the transverse member 19 and are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the flange 15 by means of the bolts 22.

As a means of securing the mail box 13 on the frame 14, four L-shaped brackets 23, each having an elongated slot 24, are adjustably secured thereto by means of the nut and bolt assemblies 25. It will be noted that two brackets 23 are provided on each longitudinal side of the frame 14 and that the vertical ends thereof may be adjusted inwardly or outwardly upon loosening of the screws or nut and bolt assemblies 25 to accommodate mail boxes 13 of varying widths.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A mail box support comprising, in combination, a rigid vertical post, a hollow rectangular frame having a perpendicularly related and inwardly extending peripheral flange, a first U-bolt straddled upon the upper end of said rigid post and extending through one end of said flange, nut means on the ends of said U-bolt in abutment with said flange, a second U-bolt vertically spaced below said first U-bolt, a transverse member, said second U-bolt extending through said transverse member, second nut means securing said transverse member to said post on said U-bolt, a parallel pair of upwardly and outwardly extending braces secured to the ends of said transverse member and diverging upwardly and outwardly from said rigid post the upper ends of said braces being pivotally connected to opposite sides of said flange, a plurality of L-shaped brackets having vertical and horizontal portions, each of said horizontal portions having an elongated slot, and bolt means passing through said frame on opposite sides thereof within said elongated slots for adjustably securing said brackets thereto for accommodating mail boxes of varying widths.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

